Isaiah 29:2-13
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 29
2I will bring distress to Ariel, And she will be a city of grieving and mourning; And she will be like an Ariel to me. 3I will camp against you encircling you, And I will set up siegeworks against you, And I will raise up battle towers against you. 4Then you will be brought low; From the earth you will speak, And from the dust where you are prostrate Your words will come. Your voice will also be like that of a spirit from the ground, And your speech will whisper from the dust. 5But the multitude of your enemies will become like fine dust, And the multitude of the ruthless ones like the chaff which blows away; And it will happen instantly, suddenly. 6From the Lord of armies you will be punished with thunder and earthquake and loud noise, With whirlwind and tempest and the flame of a consuming fire. 7And the multitude of all the nations who wage war against Ariel, Even all who wage war against her and her stronghold, and who distress her, Will be like a dream, a vision of the night. 8It will be as when a hungry person dreams— And behold, he is eating; But when he awakens, his hunger is not satisfied, Or as when a thirsty person dreams— And behold, he is drinking, But when he awakens, behold, he is faint And his thirst is not quenched. So will the multitude of all the nations be Who wage war against Mount Zion. 9Be delayed and horrified, Blind yourselves and be blind; They become drunk, but not with wine, They stagger, but not with intoxicating drink. 10For the Lord has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes—the prophets; And He has covered your heads—the seers.
11The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which, when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, 'Please read this,' he will say, 'I cannot, because it is sealed.'
12Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, 'Please read this.' And he will say, 'I cannot read.'
King James Version
8It shall even be as when an hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.
9Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink.
10For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
11And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed:
12And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned.
13Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 29
2I will oppress Ariel, and there will be mourning and crying, and she will be to me like an Ariel. 3I will camp in a circle around you; I will besiege you with earth ramps, and I will set up my siege towers against you.
4You will be brought down; you will speak from the ground, and your words will come from low in the dust. Your voice will be like that of a spirit from the ground; your speech will whisper from the dust.
5Your many foes will be like fine dust, and many of the ruthless, like blowing chaff. Then suddenly, in an instant,
6you will be punished by the Lord of Armies with thunder, earthquake, and loud noise, storm, tempest, and a flame of consuming fire.
7All the many nations going out to battle against Ariel— all the attackers, the siege works against her, and those who oppress her— will then be like a dream, a vision in the night.
8It will be like a hungry one who dreams he is eating, then wakes and is still hungry; and like a thirsty one who dreams he is drinking, then wakes and is still thirsty, longing for water. So it will be for all the many nations who go to battle against Mount Zion.
9Stop and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! They are drunk, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with beer.
10For the Lord has poured out on you an overwhelming urge to sleep; he has shut your eyes (the prophets) and covered your heads (the seers).
11For you the entire vision will be like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to one who can read and he is asked to read it, he will say, "I can’t read it, because it is sealed."
12And if the document is given to one who cannot read and he is asked to read it, he will say, "I can’t read."
New Living Translation
Chapter 29
2Yet I will bring disaster upon you, and there will be much weeping and sorrow. For Jerusalem will become what her name Ariel means — an altar covered with blood. 3I will be your enemy, surrounding Jerusalem and attacking its walls. I will build siege towers and destroy it. 4Then deep from the earth you will speak; from low in the dust your words will come. Your voice will whisper from the ground like a ghost conjured up from the grave.
5'But suddenly, your ruthless enemies will be crushed like the finest of dust. Your many attackers will be driven away like chaff before the wind. Suddenly, in an instant,
6I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will act for you with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and storm and consuming fire.
7All the nations fighting against Jerusalem will vanish like a dream! Those who are attacking her walls will vanish like a vision in the night.
8A hungry person dreams of eating but wakes up still hungry. A thirsty person dreams of drinking but is still faint from thirst when morning comes. So it will be with your enemies, with those who attack Mount Zion.'
9Are you amazed and incredulous? Don’t you believe it? Then go ahead and be blind. You are stupid, but not from wine! You stagger, but not from liquor!
10For the Lord has poured out on you a spirit of deep sleep. He has closed the eyes of your prophets and visionaries.
English Standard Version
Chapter 29
2Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be moaning and lamentation, and she shall be to me like an Ariel. 3 And I will encamp against you all around, and will besiege you with towers and I will raise siegeworks against you. 4 And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak, and from the dust your speech will be bowed down; your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost, and from the dust your speech shall whisper. 5But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff. And in an instant, suddenly, 6 you will be visited by the Lord of hosts with thunder and with earthquake and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. 7And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her, shall be like a dream, a vision of the night. 8 As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating, and awakes with his hunger not satisfied, or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking, and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched, so shall the multitude of all the nations be that fight against Mount Zion. 9Astonish yourselves and be astonished; blind yourselves and be blind! Be drunk, but not with wine; stagger, but not with strong drink! 10 For the Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep, and has closed your eyes (the prophets), and covered your heads (the seers). 11And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot, for it is sealed." 12And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, "Read this," he says, "I cannot read."New International Version
Chapter 29
2Yet I will besiege Ariel; she will mourn and lament, she will be to me like an altar hearth. 3I will encamp against you on all sides; I will encircle you with towers and set up my siege works against you.
4Brought low, you will speak from the ground; your speech will mumble out of the dust. Your voice will come ghostlike from the earth; out of the dust your speech will whisper.
5But your many enemies will become like fine dust, the ruthless hordes like blown chaff. Suddenly, in an instant,
6the Lord Almighty will come with thunder and earthquake and great noise, with windstorm and tempest and flames of a devouring fire.
7Then the hordes of all the nations that fight against Ariel, that attack her and her fortress and besiege her, will be as it is with a dream, with a vision in the night—
8as when a hungry person dreams of eating, but awakens hungry still; as when a thirsty person dreams of drinking, but awakens faint and thirsty still. So will it be with the hordes of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion.
9Be stunned and amazed, blind yourselves and be sightless; be drunk, but not from wine, stagger, but not from beer.
10The Lord has brought over you a deep sleep: He has sealed your eyes (the prophets); he has covered your heads (the seers).
11For you this whole vision is nothing but words sealed in a scroll. And if you give the scroll to someone who can read, and say, "Read this, please," they will answer, "I can’t; it is sealed."
12Or if you give the scroll to someone who cannot read, and say, "Read this, please," they will answer, "I don’t know how to read."
New King James Version
